PRO FOOTBALL; In Jacksonville, Hopes for Playoffs Again Rest on Garrard

By JUDY BATTISTA

Published: November 16, 2006

One week, David Garrard found out he would be the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting quarterback when his wife read it on the Internet. Another week, Byron Leftwich, the player he was replacing, told him.

As Garrard prepares to start his fourth consecutive game, Monday night against the Giants, nobody has to tell him the obvious: he will probably start the rest of the season, and perhaps beyond.

''It's not really a firm answer,'' Garrard said earlier this week in a telephone interview. ''It's not, 'You're the man and we want you to play and that's final.' It's basically, 'You're doing a good job so we're keeping you in there. You're the guy for now.' It isn't, 'We're putting the franchise on you.' ''

There was a time when the franchise was on Leftwich, a first-round draft pick in 2003. But that time may have passed. Leftwich sustained a left ankle injury in early October. Leftwich convinced coaches he could play after the injury flared up during practice a few weeks later, but then he played poorly in Jacksonville's loss Oct. 22 to the Houston Texans. Coach Jack Del Rio criticized Leftwich for not being forthcoming about the injury, and he named Garrard the starter for the next game.

Since then, Del Rio and Leftwich can barely keep their stories straight. Del Rio has suggested that Leftwich's ankle will never be better than 85 to 90 percent and that he may need off-season surgery to repair the injury. But Leftwich said last week that his ankle feels better than that, that no doctor has told him he needs surgery and that he doesn't think he would have been benched if the Jaguars had beaten the Texans.

On Monday, Leftwich went to the noted Alabama-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews to get a second opinion on his injury. Leftwich declined an interview request.

On Monday, Del Rio, irked after the Jaguars' second loss of the season to the Texans, grew irate when asked if he would go along with whatever Andrews recommends.

''Do you think that as a coach that I determine what a guy does?'' Del Rio responded to reporters. ''What I'm saying is that we'll find out when the quarterback comes back what the doctor says and then we'll go from there. What else would you do?''

Leftwich was the first draft selection of the Del Rio era, but the season now is hitched to Garrard, who was chosen when Giants Coach Tom Coughlin was with the Jaguars. Del Rio's decision to bench Leftwich has sparked speculation that Leftwich, who has a year remaining on his contract, could be put on the trading block after the season.

Del Rio's faith in Garrard, who is far more mobile than Leftwich but does not have his arm strength, is not without foundation. Although he might be better known for his battle with Crohn's disease, Garrard started the final five games of the 2005 season after Leftwich broke his ankle, and went 4-1 while leading the Jaguars to a 12-4 record and a wild-card spot in the playoffs.

Del Rio started Leftwich in the playoff game against the New England Patriots and his rust showed in a Jacksonville loss. Garrard drew considerable interest from other teams looking for backups before he re-signed with Jacksonville.

''I feel like I've given him a lot of confidence over the last few years, being able to help the team go to playoffs last year,'' Garrard said. ''Where he can say, 'If we need to, David can do a great job.' ''

But the Jaguars (5-4) have been plagued by inconsistency, routing the Jets, 41-0, one week, only to tumble to the Texans twice in less than a month. They were 3-3 with Leftwich and 2-1 with Garrard. The Jaguars' defense is fourth in the N.F.L., but a young corps of receivers has been prone to drops.

Garrard won his first two starts, including an upset of the Eagles in Philadelphia, but he was intercepted four times by the Texans last week. Two of the interceptions were on passes that Jaguars receivers bobbled, and Del Rio blamed those around Garrard for his substandard performance.

Even Leftwich approached Garrard on Tuesday to tell him he had played a good game. In all, the Jaguars have won six of the last eight games Garrard has started and he has thrown three touchdown passes and four interceptions this season.

That has left Garrard, now in his fifth season, in a position he has not known since he was the quarterback for East Carolina. What began with awkward moments when the quarterbacks were splitting snaps in practice has evolved into Garrard's opportunity to again lead the Jaguars to the playoffs. They are tied with the Jets and Chiefs for the final wild-card spot in the American Football Conference.

Photo: David Garrard has led the Jaguars to a 2-1 record since taking over for the injured Byron Leftwich. The Jaguars were 3-3 under Leftwich. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)